


This Cruel World We Protect

by LunaticWisdom



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaticWisdom/pseuds/LunaticWisdom
Summary: We stopped looking for monsters when we realized they were inside us all this time. In this cruel, yet beautiful world, one must be willing to throw away their humanity and become the very beings they seek to eliminate. Levi/OC
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	This Cruel World We Protect

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** This Cruel World We Protect ******

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**Prologue**

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**Year 850**

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It must have been the smell carried by the wind that day. It was nostalgic, reminding her of a childhood robbed by the cruel reality of fate when Wall Maria fell just five years prior; a brutal reminder of her place in this world. The once tranquil air was dispersing the scent of decay through a field littered with death. A smell so pungent, she could practically taste it. Mangled corpses, whose souls long departed from the world, were bountiful as the wildflowers that grew there, their petals once vibrant colors now stained with the undeniable tinge of blood. Death surrounded her, but it was to be expected with her line of work. They were disposable after all, just a holding place for the next body to take arms.

She breathes heavily, struggling to find balance on the branch of a lone tree, high above from the kill zone that was the ground below. She eventually collapses against its trunk, her fingers are gripping onto the bark, nails digging in for additional support. Exhaustion was an understatement to describe how battered her body was. Everything about her was pushed to the brink these past four days: physically, mentally, and spiritually. She knew she couldn't linger in this spot any longer, no matter how much her muscles begging for a moment of respite. With her arms and legs feeling like jelly, the slightest movement brought inconsolable torment. She cries out in pain as she leans over to survey her surroundings, her body screaming in protest for her to stop moving. The scent of blood and decay was now overwhelming and she fights back the urge to vomit, covering her mouth and retching, forcing herself to endure the gagging sensation ticking her throat. Even years of her service in the Survey Corps, where death was so abundant, couldn't prevent this.

Wiping the sweat and dried blood off her face, she eventually recovers her composure and resumes studying her environment and the predicament she was forced in. She was separated from her group, ambushed by a horde of monsters, and like a cat, driven up a tree for safety. The foliage obscures her view, but she could hear their unmistakable thunderous steps as they circle around the tree, like a predator stalking their prey. Peering through an opening, she noted a collection of trees meters away, her only means of escape. Out in the open with no structure to attach herself to other than this lone tree or even her horse, she was a sitting duck. Cursing, she bites down on her cracked, lower lip and draws blood.

This was it. Her life of twenty years was coming to an end at the hands of these grotesque, man-eating humanoids called Titans. She knew what joining the Survey Corps entailed, never knowing when death would welcome her on its doorstep. She had prepared herself for such an occasion through training and experience, but now as she stood at the pinnacle of humanity's extinction, she was terrified. Did her life have any impact on the world? Was her sacrifice going to be in vain? She unbuckles her medical pack, freeing her from the extra weight of her supplies. There was no need for them now or ever. She leans back against the trunk and silently cries, resigning to her fate. All of this, just to protect the cruel world she lived in.

The past four days were a blur: the 57th Expedition Outside the Walls, the battle in Stohess District against the very enemy that had hindered their progress during the said expedition, traveling over two thousand km in search for a breach and eventually coming up with nothing, and now this, a rescue mission. She was surprised by how she could function with little to no sleep. Deranged, she begins to laugh at the sudden possibility of having unlimited sleep until she is interrupted by a familiar sound of pistons firing.

She pushes her way through the leaves to get a better look. She is blinded by the setting sun as she breaks through, raising her hands to shield her eyes. Squinting, she could somewhat make out a flitting form approaching in the air behind the Titans. Were her eyes deceiving her? Or was there a higher form mocking her at death's door? A distorted voice broke through the silence, shouting something unintelligible. As the figure propelled closer to her location, she could hear a distinct voice calling her name. She couldn't help but grin at the sudden realization. The sounds of several pistons firing, iron wires reeling and gas canisters hissing was music to her ears as the lone figure was joined by the silhouettes of her comrades.

She rushes to cinch her medical pack's belt around her waist, securing it tightly to prevent an imbalance. The last thing she wanted was to be ripped apart as a result of undistributed weight. Clutching tight on the worn-down hilt of her grips, she unsheathes her final pair of blades. Her fingers were waiting at the top and bottom triggers, ready to fire out the compressed gas. In one swift motion, she would explode with immense speed, catapulting her into the sky she frequently called home; the one place she was free from the confines of her prison, the Walls.

With a renewed sense of hope, she was fighting for a chance to see the world beyond the Walls, a world without end. All her life, she was told that the world ended at the Walls, but the books she read in secret during her childhood said otherwise. Such material was banned within the Walls but this didn't stop her. This passionate curiosity was what fueled her desire to see these sights herself. She wanted to see the land and sky in their endless form and she would die trying.

Without any delay, she pulled the bottom trigger, flinging herself through the leaves and out into the bountiful sky. Her green cloak fluttered behind her, the wings of freedom-the Survey Corps emblem-shining brightly in the setting sun. A gust of wind helped push her as she propelled with immense speed to a nearby Titan. She could hear a flurry of commands from her squad as she raised her arms up, blades ready to take down the monsters and help humanity take a step towards freedom.

Death was like the wind-always ready at her side.

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction will contain SPOILERS from the manga. I highly recommend if you aren't up to date with the latest chapter/arc, please reconsider reading ahead at your own risk. The plot of this fanfiction will a combination of the anime and manga, with occasional filler and twists of my own creation.
> 
> Before I start off, this story is dedicated to my anime/manga person and supreme enabler drwatsonn. Life just got sweeter the minute I saw your Discord icon and I knew we were meant to be (and I still apologize for the madness that ensued immediately after) :) PLEASE check out their stories and PLEASE leave some love because while they are an amazing friend, they are an equally amazing writer!
> 
> Anywho, welcome to another plot bunny! If you are expecting romance-and I'm so sorry about this-please kick back and enjoy the show for the time being because it won't happen any time soon. This is a slow burn fic and since it involves Levi, this might take a while. Speaking of which, he won't make an appearance until the end of the first arc since I want to devote a good portion to develop Avis' character and background.
> 
> The first official chapter will take place ten years prior (Year 840) as we will focus on Avis' childhood and the events that lead up to the fateful day she lost everything. I will be categorizing the chapters in arcs and we will start off with the Fall of Humanity Arc.
> 
> Thanks for clicking on this story and I hope you'll like what I've come up with. Please let me know what you think of this :D Also, please be aware that I am not Japanese and I will follow the English translations because that is what I am most familiar with.
> 
> Please check out my Tumblr for more fanfiction related tidbits: atomicgracy . tumblr . com (minus the spaces)


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